[Rockhounds] "list where the knowledge of many is shared freely"

[Ted Kowalski]

Since we strayed a little bit on this topic; that is, generalized threats to
scare people about areas under claim.

On our last trip west this past summer, we took the time to visit several
BLM offices and the corresponding county courthouses (in some states like
Nevada, claims must be registered in both offices and paid for yearly for
the claim to be legal).

We had heard from numerous people that "XX" collecting sites were completely
claimed (Virgin Valley for example) and we couldn't get access anymore.
Well, visits to the BLM and county courthouses clarified that. Most of those
sites were not completely claimed, or at least there were a lot of claims
that were no longer valid and had not been valid for years. Legitimate
claims must be respected!

As Tim mentioned there is a lot of intentional misinformation put out to
deter people. Do some homework and check the official sources.

Back to Tim's analogy about fishing; I once knew a much respected East coast
author who wrote for periodicals catering to fishermen (and ladies). He once
confided that he never returned to the dock with the same lure or rod/reel
setup he caught fish with, he would put them away and substitute something
else. Nor did he ever describe what he actually used, or exactly where he
fished; he considered that personal knowledge and not to be shared publicly,
(maybe I should mention his dire threats when he actually shared knowledge
personally). 

At the end of all this, the best method for sharing information is still to
join clubs, make friends and participate in group rock collecting trips with
experienced rock hounds. Some of the best information I have gotten is from
old timers who share a hole and eventually information. Don't ever grill
them, respect their reticence. I have gotten great tips when I've told old
timers where I plan to collect and asked their opinion, (opinions are often
freely shared). They've marked my maps, told me where to dig and sometimes
even showed me what to look for and expect. 

Two summers ago, I and my son spent the day breaking up a large
quartz/biotite boulder looking for emeralds at the Crabtree mine near Spruce
Grove NC. While we were whacking this boulder with a sledge, an older
gentleman stopped to watch. Half an hour later, he asked if we would like to
try his sledge. We had a 12 pound sledge, he had a 24 pound sledge. A 24
pound sledge is harder to swing for long, but really packs a punch. Anyway
to keep the story short, this gentleman, nicknamed Stoneman, spent the next
six hours working that boulder over with us. At lunch time he looked at my
marked map and added some more marks. At the end of the day, he sat with us
and our Gatorade and told us some terrific stories and collecting areas. We
did not discuss collecting sites while whacking the boulder. Stoneman,
sadly, passed away several months later and left a huge hole in the NC
rockhound knowledge continuum.

Ted Kowalski
Fredericksburg, VA USA



-----Original Message-----
From: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com] On Behalf Of Tim Fisher
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 9:18 AM
To: Ted at crystalgems.com; Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and
gem collectors
Subject: RE: [Rockhounds] "list where the knowledge of many is shared
freely"

If you can wait until after Christmas, yes it is, since I believe 
even the USPS won't guarantee Priority Mail will be delivered by 
then. Now I want to put "AD" in the subject line lol. It used to be 
free, but then the negative nellies found it and just wouldn't leave 
me alone. I discovered that they will never, ever, pay for something 
to complain about it, and voila! The CD was born! And no, they 
weren't all from LA. Seems that central/eastern Oregon & southern 
Idaho are also hotspots of negativism, since I still get the 
occasional bashing email from there from someone who has "heard of" 
or "seen" the CD. A particularly infamous email warned that I and my 
Mt Hood Rock Club "cronies" would suffer unspecified dire 
consequences if we were caught on any of this person's "claims" (he 
had and currently has no legal claims listed in the BLM database). 
That's the attitude I was referring to, BTW. How would you like to be 
a newbie and get threatened with bodily harm if you chose to dig 
rocks in a place that someone else didn't want you to dig in?

<snip>